Vegetarian Sweet Potato Chili will keep the non-meat eaters in your family happy. Serve it in holiday mugs for a festive touch.

These tips will help with last-minute holiday plans

You've been masterful at avoiding the holiday hype, but Christmas is a nanosecond away and you've still got things to do.

There are a few presents to buy. The table isn't decorated. And it's off to the grocery store at least one more time.

But don't worry, your goose isn't cooked yet.

There's still time to accomplish quite a bit. And we've put together a few last-ditch ideas for food, fun, gifts and decorating.

Some of these holiday rescues are a phone call or a computer screen away. Others will send you to the store or the stove.

But the hope is that you make merry — and make it fast!

Milwaukee Cupcake Co. to the rescue: Order cupcakes decorated for the holidays from Milwaukee Cupcake Company, 316 N. Milwaukee St.

Pick them up at the shop — they have curbside service if you let them know when you'll be arriving. Or you can have these scratch-baked cupcakes delivered in the downtown area — $10 delivery fee with minimum $25 order — through the morning of Dec. 24. Outside that area, fees are based on mileage. Gluten-free holiday-decorated cupcakes are also available. Call (414) 727-1209.

Last resort and lots of compliments: For a quick-chic centerpiece, pile apples, pomegranates, nuts, even kale — whatever catches your eye at the grocery store — in a pretty bowl. Or go to a home improvement store and buy little plants — ivy, for example — that can be placed in an assortment of repurposed containers such as old vases or favorite pieces of pottery.

You can also fashion a last-minute hostess gift by creatively boxing up edibles or perhaps a plant. That's advice from Patrick Smith, who was vice president for general merchandise at Harley-Davidson and is now a partner with Esteban Interiors in La Jolla, Calif.

"My two best friends during the holiday are the grocery store and the local home improvement store," said Smith, who divides his time between Milwaukee and La Jolla.

Cards not in the mail yet?Send New Year's cards instead, says Smith, noting that "people like receiving cards after the madness of the holidays."

App-y holidays:Save time and paper with e-cards. Red Stamp is just one of the user-friendly apps that allow you to personalize and send either digital or paper cards. Red Stamp also has printable 2014 calendars. It's available for computer and for mobile devices such as iPad.

Color it red and green:Download and print free coloring pages for the kids. It's no surprise that Crayola has lots of pages to choose from, as well as an online coloring feature.

Fa-la-la: Hand out Christmas carol lyrics for the family singalong. One source for free, printable lyrics is printasong.com.

Out of wrapping paper? Furoshiki is a traditional Japanese wrapping cloth, but you can use any piece of fabric that's big enough for what you're wrapping — from a bandanna to an old tablecloth. Fasten the package with a knot or safety pin. You'll find quite a few how-to videos online.

Laptop gift: If you happen to have time on your hands, embroider your guests' first names on cloth napkins. The personalized napkins can serve as place cards and party favors.

HoneyBells, not sleigh bells: Juicy Florida HoneyBell tangelos don't ripen until sometime in January. So phone your gift order in now, to be delivered after the holidays. One reliable citrus purveyor is Albritton Fruit Co. in Sarasota.

Santa will be grateful for the protein and fiber in this smoothie. The recipe is from Eric Lewis, operations manager for Refuge Smoothies, with locations at 763 N. Plankinton Ave. and 2328 N. Farwell Ave.

Preparation

In a 4- to 6-quart Dutch oven or stockpot, over medium-high heat, sauté chopped vegetables in olive oil. Stir ingredients every few minutes so they cook evenly.

After several minutes, once onions start turning translucent, turn heat to medium-low. Add spices and canned ingredients, and stir. Cover and cook up to 2 hours, stirring occasionally and adjusting heat, if necessary, so it simmers slowly.

By the time chili is done, sweet potatoes should be nice and soft and the liquid should have reduced a bit. Garnish as desired.

Christmas brunch: If you haven’t planned your menu for Christmas morning yet, then go with Baked Eggs Florentine adapted from Cook’s Illustrated. The spinach filling can be prepared and refrigerated ahead of time.

We’ve included some of the notes, slightly tweaked, from Cook’s test kitchen.

When we tested the recipe for this article, truth be told, the eggs were cracked right into the center of the hot filling, so the step that puts the raw eggs in individual bowls was skipped.

Preparation tips:

In order for eggs to cook properly, it is critical to add them to hot filling-lined ramekins quickly. Use 6-ounce ramekins with 3¼-inch diameters, measured from the inner lip.

It is imperative to remove eggs from oven just after whites have turned opaque but are still jiggly — carryover cooking will finish the job.

If using a metal baking pan, reduce oven temperature to 425 degrees.

This recipe can be doubled. If doubling, bake ramekins in two 13-by-9-inch dishes and increase baking times by about a minute.

Lightly coat six 6-ounce ramekins with vegetable oil spray. Evenly divide spinach filling among ramekins. Using back of spoon, push filling 1 inch up sides of ramekins to create a 1/8 inch-thick layer. Shape remaining filling in bottom of ramekin into 1½-inch mound, making shallow indentation in center of mound large enough to hold yolk. Place filled ramekins in 13-by-9-inch glass baking dish. Bake in preheated oven until filling just starts to brown, about 7 minutes, rotating dish halfway through baking.

While filling is heating, crack eggs (taking care not to break yolks) into individual cups or bowls. Remove baking dish with ramekins from oven and place on wire rack. Gently pour eggs from cups into hot ramekins, centering yolk in filling. Lightly coat surface of each egg with vegetable oil spray and sprinkle each evenly with a pinch of salt. Return baking dish to oven and bake until whites are just opaque but still tremble (carryover heat will cook white through), 6 to 8 minutes, rotating dish halfway through baking.

Remove dish from oven and, using tongs, transfer ramekins to wire rack. Let stand until whites are firm and set (yolks should still be runny), about 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

To make ahead: Prepare ramekins with spinach filling, but do not bake. Wrap ramekins with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 3 days. To serve, remove plastic wrap and bake lined ramekins, directly from refrigerator, about 10 to 11 minutes, before proceeding with recipe.

Snowflaked cocktails: Make a snowflake-shaped cocktail garnish with a snowflake cookie cutter and a round slice of apple. It’s a flourish from “The Party Planner” by David Tutera. Use a slow-to-brown apple such as Golden Delicious.